Kim Ware and the Good Graces’ “Overflowing” Strikes a Haunting Vibe (premiere)

It’s been 16 years since Kim Ware and the Good Graces made a splash in the Atlanta indie scene. The songwriter has since blossomed into an intuitive folk artist, attuned to crafting atmospheric works that have carried her around the country and back to her Georgia and now North Carolina home. Ware recently moved back to her hometown of Kings Mountain, a small town where she first picked up her musical streak through drumming. Alongside the move, Ware teed up for the September release of the Good Graces’ sixth album, Ready, produced by Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo).

“Overflowing” is an ethereal rambler that plays out like an offbeat sum of parts: grungy guitar tones, a neo-western flourish, and some indie folk harmonies. Ware’s straight-shooting vocal delivery brings it all together, casting haunting reflections over the tune. The Good Graces’ accompanying lyric video for the single drives the mood further, complete with washed-out yellows and reds across a smoky landscape.

Ware tells PopMatters, “‘Overflowing’ is one of a few songs on the record that I wrote while I still lived in Atlanta before the pandemic. I was listening to a LOT of Jaimee Harris’ ‘Red Rescue’ during that time; I feel like a bit of her influence may have seeped in. The creation of the song was pretty organic, though, with the lyrics being mostly stream of consciousness, save for a line or two.”

“At the time, we were trying to get our old house ready to put on the market, which turned out to be a huge endeavor. So the line ‘we’ll never make it out of Georgia’ was reflective of how I felt at the time, with the ‘speed trap’ being all the obstacles life was throwing at us. It’s one of the first songs we finished for the album, and I really love all the atmospheric touches Jerry brought to it. Sonically, it’s probably my favorite song on the album.”